U.S. patent application number 13/158505 was filed with the patent office on 2012-12-13 for card connector with rear latch.
This patent application is currently assigned to HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to AARON MICHAEL BOBUK, TERRANCE F. LITTLE, STEPHEN SEDIO.
Application Number | 20120315781 13/158505 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47293555 |
Filed Date | 2012-12-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120315781 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LITTLE; TERRANCE F. ; et
al. |
December 13, 2012 |
CARD CONNECTOR WITH REAR LATCH
Abstract
A card connector (100) includes an insulative housing (2, 2'), a
number of contacts (3) retained in the insulative housing, a slider
(41, 41') assembled on the insulative housing and movable relative
to the insulative housing, a spring (42, 42') compressed between
the insulative housing and the slider for urging the slider along a
card ejection direction, and a rear latch (231, 43) having a card
lock (2312, 4312') extending to a rear edge of an inserted card (5,
6, 5') for securing with the rear edge of the inserted card.
Inventors: |
LITTLE; TERRANCE F.; (York,
PA) ; BOBUK; AARON MICHAEL; (Bellevue, WA) ;
SEDIO; STEPHEN; (Valley Center, CA) |
Assignee: |
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO.,
LTD.
New Taipei
TW
|
Family ID: |
47293555 |
Appl. No.: |
13/158505 |
Filed: |
June 13, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/345 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06K 13/0825
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
439/345 |
International
Class: |
H01R 13/625 20060101
H01R013/625 |
Claims
1. A card connector comprising: an insulative housing; a plurality
of contacts retained in the insulative housing; a slider assembled
on the insulative housing and movable relative to the insulative
housing; a spring compressed between the insulative housing and the
slider for urging the slider along a card ejection direction; and a
rear latch having a card lock extending to a rear edge of an
inserted card for securing with the rear edge of the inserted
card.
2. The card connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rear latch
comprises a flexible arm integral with the insulative housing and
the card lock is formed at the free end of the flexible arm.
3. The card connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the slider and
the insulative housing together define a card receiving space and
the flexible arm is deflectable away from the card receiving
space.
4. The card connector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the card lock
protrudes towards the card receiving space and the rear latch
comprises an operating portion formed at the free end of the
flexible arm opposite to the card lock.
5. The card connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the contacts
are raised up into the card receiving space during a movement of
the slider along a card insertion direction.
6. The card connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the inserted
card is either a UFS card or a micro SD card.
7. The card connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the slider
comprises a confronting portion which the inserted card confronts
with for pushing the slider along the card insertion direction and
for the slider to push the inserted card out of the card receiving
space along the card ejection direction.
8. The card connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the card lock
is pushed by a front edge of the inserted card outwardly at the
beginning of the insertion of the card.
9. The card connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the card lock
is pushed by a middle part of the inserted card during the
insertion of the card.
10. The card connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rear
latch is assembled on the insulative housing.
11. The card connector as claimed in claim 10, wherein the rear
latch has a main portion and a guiding portion forked with the main
portion.
12. The card connector as claimed in claim 11, wherein the main
portion has a fixed end pivotally assembled to a front part of the
insulative housing and the card lock comprises a free end opposite
to the fixed end and extending beyond a rear edge of the
slider.
13. The card connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein the slider
defines a heart-shaped slot and the guiding portion is guided in
the heart-shaped slot.
14. The card connector as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
insulative housing defines a card receiving space and the guiding
portion is positioned nearest to the card receiving space in the
heart-shaped slot when the card is fully inserted.
15. A card connector assembly for use with an electronic card,
comprising: an insulative housing defining a card receiving space
communicating with an exterior via a front opening for receiving
the electronic card; a plurality of contacts disposed in the
housing with contacting sections; a slider back and forth movable
with regard to the housing along a front-to-back direction via a
spring, said slider defining a confronting portion for
confrontation with a front edge of the electronic card so as to be
able to move along with the electronic card during
insertion/ejection of the electronic card; and a moveable latch
defining a latch section around said front opening for locking a
rear edge of the electronic card.
16. The card connector assembly as claimed in claim 16, wherein the
slider defines a plurality of recesses to receive the corresponding
contacts, respectively.
17. The card connector assembly as claimed in claim 15, wherein
said slider is equipped with cam structures to raise up the
contacting sections of the corresponding contacts when said slider
is moved from a front position to a rear position.
18. The card connector assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein
when the slider is located at the front position, the latch section
no longer locks the rear edge of the electronic card.
19. The card connector assembly as claimed in claim 15, wherein the
latch is pivotal with regard to the housing to have the latch
section to be moveable.
20. The card connector assembly as claimed 19, wherein a guiding
structure is formed on the latch and the slider to have the latch
move corresponding to movement of the slider, and includes a heart
like groove cooperating with a pin moving along the groove.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a card connector,
and more particularly to a card connector which has a card lock for
securing an inserted card.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Arts
[0004] Micro SD (Security Digital) card standard is published by SD
association. A micro SD card usually defines a side notch and a
micro SD card connector is used for receiving the micro SD card.
The micro SD card connector usually has an ejector comprising a
slider, a spring, and a pin member for cooperatively ejecting the
micro SD card. The micro SD card connector further comprises a card
lock separately or integrally formed with the slider for securing
with the side notch of the micro SD card. Presently, JEDEC (Joint
Electronic Device Engineering Council) association is establishing
a new UFS (Universal Flash Storage) card standard aiming at
developing a faster memory card.
[0005] Hence, a card connector having a new card lock different
from that of micro SD card connector is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to
provide a card connector having a new card lock.
[0007] To achieve the above object, a card connector includes an
insulative housing, a number of contacts retained in the insulative
housing, a slider assembled on the insulative housing and movable
relative to the insulative housing, a spring compressed between the
insulative housing and the slider for urging the slider along a
card ejection direction, and a rear latch having a card lock
extending to a rear edge of an inserted card for securing with the
rear edge of the inserted card.
[0008] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective, assembled view of a card connector
constructed in accordance with the present invention in a first
embodiment;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective, exploded view of the card
connector;
[0011] FIG. 3 is another perspective, exploded view of the card
connector;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a first top plan view of the card connector when a
top cover is removed and a UFS card is initially inserted
therein;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a second top plan view of the card connector when
the UFS card is fully inserted;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a third top plan view of the card connector when
the top cover is removed and a micro SD card is initially inserted
therein;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a fourth top plan view of the card connector when
the micro SD card is fully inserted;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the card connector when
the UFS/micro SD card is not inserted;
[0017] FIG. 9 is another cross-sectional view of the card connector
when the UFS/micro SD card is fully inserted;
[0018] FIGS. 10-13 are top plan views of a card connector
constructed in accordance with the present invention in a second
embodiment during a UFS card's insertion; and
[0019] FIGS. 14-16 are top plan views of the card connector
constructed in accordance with the present invention in the second
embodiment during the UFS card's ejection.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1-9, a card connector 100 in accordance
with the present invention in a first embodiment used for
alternatively receiving a UFS (Universal Flash Storage) card 5 and
a micro SD (Secure Digital) card 6, comprises an insulative housing
2, a plurality of contacts 3 received in the insulative housing 2,
a slider 41 assembled on the insulative housing 2 and movable
relative to the insulative housing 2 along a card
insertion/ejection direction, and a spring 42 sandwiched between
the insulative housing 2 and the slider 41 for urging the slider 41
along the card ejection direction. The card connector 100 further
comprises a metal shell 7 covering the insulative housing 2 for
shielding.
[0022] Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, 8, and 9, the insulative housing 2
comprises a front retaining portion 21, a middle supporting portion
22, and a rear securing portion 23 positioned along the card
insertion/ejection direction. The contacts 3 have a plurality of
soldering portions 31 extending out of the insulative housing 2, a
plurality of connecting portions 32 retained in the retaining
portion 21, and a plurality of contacting portions 33 extending
rearward upwardly towards the supporting portion 22. The slider 41
is assembled on the supporting portion 22 and is movable forward on
the insulative housing 2 such that the contacting portions 32 are
raised up by the slider 41 for connecting with the UFS card 5 or
the micro SD card 6. The insulative housing 2 forms a rear latch
231 at a lateral side of the securing portion 23. The rear latch
231 comprises a flexible arm 2311 integral with the insulative
housing 2, a card lock 2312 inwardly formed at the free end of the
flexible arm 2311, and an operating portion 2313 formed at the free
end of the flexible arm 2311 which is opposite to the card lock
2312. The slider 41 and the insulative housing 2 together define a
card receiving space (not labeled). The flexible arm 2311 abuts
against the card receiving space and is deflectable away from the
card receiving space when the card lock 2312 or the operating
portion 2313 is pushed for giving away to the UFS card 5 or the
micro SD card 6. The card lock 2312 protrudes towards the card
receiving space and is capable of being secured with the UFS card 5
or the micro SD card 6.
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, 8, and 9, the slider 41 is
assembled on the supporting portion 22 and is movable on the
insulative housing 2. The slider 41 defines a plurality of recesses
411 extending along the card insertion/ejection direction for
receiving the contacting portions 33 of the contacts 3. The slider
41 forms a cam 4111 in each recess 411. The contacting portions 33
are raised upwardly into the card receiving space by the cams 4111
for connecting with the UFS card 5 or the micro SD card 6. The
slider 41 comprises a confronting portion 412 at a front, left side
thereof. The UFS card 5 or the micro SD card 6 confronts with the
confronting portion 412 for pushing the slider 41 to move along the
card insertion direction and the confronting portion 412 reversely
pushes the UFS card 5 or the micro SD card 6 to move along the card
ejection direction. During the movement of the slider 41 along the
card insertion direction, the spring 42 is compressed to have
elasticity. The elasticity of the spring 42 is released and
therefore, the spring 42 urges the slider 41 to move along the card
ejection direction.
[0024] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, showing a process that the UFS
card 5 is inserted into the card receiving space. The UFS card 5
begins to be inserted into the card receiving space, the front edge
of the UFS card 5 pushes the card lock 2312 outwardly and the
flexible arm 2311 is deflected away from the card receiving space
for giving away for the UFS card 5. When the UFS card 5 is
initially inserted as FIG. 4, the UFS card 5 confronts the
confronting portion 412 of the slider 41 and begins to drive the
slider 41 to move along the card insertion direction. The spring 42
becomes compressed and has elasticity. When the UFS card 5 is fully
inserted as FIG. 5, the flexible arm 2311 returns back to its
original position and the card lock 2312 is secured with the rear
edge of the UFS card 5. The contacting portions 33 of the contacts
3 are raised upwardly for connecting with the UFS card 5. Since the
UFS card 5 has a larger front width, the UFS card 5 electrically
connects with nine contacting portions 33 of the contacts 3. When
the UFS card 5 is ejected, a user pushed the operating portion 2313
outwardly by a finger and the flexible arm 2311 is deflected
outwardly. The elasticity of the spring 42 is released for ejecting
the UFS card 5.
[0025] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, showing a process that the micro
SD card 6 is inserted into the card receiving space. The micro SD
card 6 begins to be inserted into the card receiving space, since
the micro SD card 6 has a smaller front edge, the front edge of the
micro SD card 6 does not push the card lock 2312 but the middle
part of the micro SD card 6 pushes the card lock 2312 outwardly for
instead, and therefore, the flexible arm 2311 is deflected by the
micro SD card 6 away from the card receiving space for giving away
for the micro SD card 6. When the micro SD card 6 is initially
inserted as FIG. 6, the front edge of the micro SD card 6 confronts
the confronting portion 412 of the slider 41 and drives the slider
41 to move along the card insertion direction. The spring 42
becomes compressed and has elasticity. The contacting portions 33
of the contacts 3 are raised upwardly for connecting with the micro
SD card 6. When the micro SD card 6 is fully inserted as FIG. 7,
the flexible arm 2311 returns back to its original position and the
card lock 2312 is secured with the rear edge of the micro SD card
6. The micro SD card 6 electrically connects with eight contacting
portions 33 of the contacts 3, namely the right, ninth contacting
portion 33 is not in use. When the micro SD card 6 is ejected, a
user pushed the operating portion 2313 outwardly by a finger and
the flexible arm 2311 is deflected outwardly. The elasticity of the
spring 42 is released for ejecting the micro SD card 6.
[0026] Referring to FIGS. 10-16, a push-push card connector 100' in
accordance with the present invention in a second embodiment
defines a card receiving space (not labeled) for receiving the UFS
card 5'. Card insertion/ejection direction is defined thereby. The
push-push card connector 100' comprises an insulative housing 2', a
plurality of contacts (not shown) retained in the insulative
housing 2', and an ejector 4' assembled at the lateral side of the
insulative housing 2'. The ejector 4' comprises a slider 41'
defining a heart-shaped slot 410', a spring 42' urging the slider
41' in the card ejection direction, and a rear latch 43' moveable
relative to the slider 41'. The slider 41' comprises a lengthwise
portion 411' and a transverse portion 412' perpendicular to the
lengthwise portion 411'. The heart-shaped slot 410' is defined on
the lengthwise portion 411. The transverse portion 412' extends
laterally from the lengthwise portion 411' into the card receiving
space. The spring 42' is compressed between the insulative housing
2' and the lengthwise portion 411'. The rear latch 43' has a main
portion 431' and a guiding portion 432' forked with the main
portion 431'. The main portion 431' has a fixed end 4311' pivotally
assembled to a front part of the insulative housing 2' and a free
end/card lock 4312' extending beyond a rear edge of the slider 41'.
The guiding portion 432' is moveable guided in the heart-shaped
slot 410'.
[0027] FIGS. 10-13 are top plan views of the card connector 100'
during the UFS card's insertion. Referring to FIG. 10, when the UFS
card 5' is initially inserted into the card receiving space, the
UFS card 5' gets to the transverse portion 412' of the slider 41'
without obstacle. A user pushes the UFS card 5' and the slider 41'
is movable together with the UFS card 5' along the card insertion
direction. The spring 42' extends naturally along the card
insertion/ejection direction. The guiding portion 432' is
positioned at the A point, which is the frontal position of the
heart-shaped slot 410'. The main portion 431' obliquely extends
across the slider 41' such that the free end/card lock 4312'
extending beyond the slider 41' without interference. Referring to
FIG. 11, the UFS card 5' is inserted deeper into the card receiving
space. The spring 42' becomes compressed and has elasticity. The
guiding portion 432' moves away from the A point towards the B
point. The main portion 431' still obliquely extends across the
slider 41' with the free end/card lock 4312' moving rightward and
farther away from the slider 41' but not attaching the rear edge of
the UFS card 5'. Referring to FIG. 12, the free end/card lock 4312'
achieves the rear edge of the UFS card 5'. The spring 42' is
further compressed. The guiding portion 432' moves rightward and
rearward from the B point towards the C point. In FIG. 13, when the
guiding portion 432' is finally positioned at the C point which is
nearest to the card receiving space, the UFS card 5' is orientated
at the inner position at which the UFS card 5' is fully inserted
and electrically connected with the contacts. The main portion 431'
extends along the card's insertion/ejection direction and the free
end/card lock 4312' finally secures with the rear edge of the UFS
card 5'. The UFS card 5' is fixedly received in the card receiving
space and is prevented from dropping out of the card receiving
space.
[0028] FIGS. 14-16 are top plan views of the card connector 100'
during the UFS card's ejection. In order to push the UFS card 5'
out of the card connector 100', a user pushes the UFS card 5' along
the card's insertion direction again and then the finger moves
away. Referring to FIG. 14, the spring 42' is compressed greater
than it is at the inner position. The guiding portion 432' moves
leftward and rearward from the C point towards the D point and
therefore, the main portion 431' returns to oblique performance and
unlocks with the rear edge of the UFS card 5'. The guiding portion
432' does not stay at the D point but moves leftward and frontward
across the E point and finally moves back to the A point, referring
to FIGS. 14 and 15, during which the UFS card 5' is finally ejected
out of the card connector 100'.
[0029] The rear latch 231/43' secures with rear edge of the
inserted card 5/6/5' and prevents the card 5/6/5' from dropping out
of the card receiving space. The card lock 2312 of the rear latch
231 is deflectable laterally or the card lock 4312' of the rear
latch 43' is moveable sideward both for giving place to the
inserted card 5/6/5'. The card lock 2312/4312' of the rear latch
231/43' substantially secures with a rear edge of the card
receiving space when card 5/6/5' is fixedly received in the card
receiving space.
[0030] While a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present
invention has been shown and described, equivalent modifications
and changes known to persons skilled in the art according to the
spirit of the present invention are considered within the scope of
the present invention as described in the appended claims.
* * * * *